China’s Online Black Market — Part I: Tencent QQ Credentials

Like on the rest of the world, in China some users’ online credentials and data are either used without their permission by some Internet companies to their benefit or traded on the black market. While some are common practices worldwide, there are some that can only happen in China.

TOMsInsight, an online data analysis and research service founded by veterans from Microsoft, Baidu and McKinsey, concludes that some tactics or even cyber crimes by Chinese copycats in order to gain or engage users are the major causes of the failure of many Internet services from outside China. It’s called by many “The Black Barrier”.

TOMsInsight has recently released a series of reports on China’s online black market. Here are my takeaways, what we have long heard about that are unique about the Chinese Web.

What you get

Full access to all premium content and our full archives

Members'-only newsletters

Preferential access and discounts to all TechNode events

Direct access to the TechNode newsroom